Fruits and/or vegetables that are harvested fully ripened for mass market may deteriorate or risk damage before reaching the grocery shelf. Therefore, growers may the pick the fruits and/or vegetables, such as, for example, tomatoes when they are not fully ripe (e.g., when the tomatoes are green) in an effort to ensure that the harvested tomatoes ship well. Thus, the force-ripened (ripened off the plant or vine) tomatoes available in supermarkets and retail establishments may be undesirably hard, bland, and tasteless as compared to fully-vine-ripened tomatoes. Furthermore, tomatoes that are picked prior to achieving a fully ripen stage on the vine may not contain the same amounts of lycopene, nutrients, and vitamins as vine-ripened tomatoes.
In addition to tomatoes, other fresh produce may be harvested prior to achieving a fully ripened stage and therefore may also be tasteless and/or nutritionally deficient. Accordingly, a method or product to address unripe, under-ripe, or force-ripened produce may have widespread application.